The new 5:2 diet thread

[GreenEggsAndNichts]

The continuing thread for those of us following either the 5:2 diet or the alternate-day fasting diet. Both are two versions of Intermittent Fasting, which you can read more about here.

The 5:2 diet was featured on Horizon recently, and essentially requires you to fast for 2 non-consecutive days per week. The other 5 days, you can eat what you like. Alternate-day fasting is just how it sounds; you fast every other day. By "fasting", we mean that we keep our calorie consumption very low, around 500 calories on average, on those days.

Come join us, and tell us about your experiences with this diet! :)

tilly currently I'm fasting Mondays and Thursdays and weighing myself on Friday mornings before I have breakfast that way I can kid myself I've lost more than I have :o

Hi all, about weighing-in. I try to do it after a normal eating day and in the morning before drinking or eating anything (as otherwise the weight will be up and down and all over the place depending on how much I drank that day. I drink a LOT of fluid). But I have been doing this from the beginning and it might suit other people to weigh themselves at the same time and day they have done before.

I didn't get to weigh myself this week as the battery was gone in my scales but I got a replacement battery so I can weigh-in next week. At least with this diet I know I will definitely not put up weight, and should lose some even if very gradually, so I don't feel I have to weigh myself as often to keep such an eye on it.

I have only done one fast day so far this week and hope to do one tomorrow as well. Some weeks I do two fast days and others 3. I really like the flexibility of this diet. I am having a take-out chinese tonight .

I definitely snack less now than I did and feel I have more control over my appetite and general eating habits. Really love reading this thread and seeing how everyone else is doing.

Yeah this is what I think as well.

Someone was looking for the thread with the low calorie meal recipies a few pages back. It is here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/big_slim_whatever_weight_loss_club/1536164-The-5-2-Approach-500-calorie-meals-thread

3 replies in a low, I am officially stalking this thread

Checking in, week 2 fast day 2, found this week a lot easier, no headaches and no grumpiness, feel generally more energetic, today was egg and toast for breakfast, fish and veg for tea,

Weighing day is Sunday so not sure yet how I'm progressing. I think I may be eating too much protein though, fish circa 125 cals on both fast days this week, will maybe try veg only teas next week.

Overall finding the fasting manageable, there have been a few temptations around which I have been able to stay away from. I think I'll be able to stick to 5:2 quite well, tempted to do 3:4 over next two weeks in advance of trip away to visit friends who I haven't seen in couple of years.

Can I check re protein issue - haven't yet seen tv prog - consensus is little to no protein on fast days?

Thanks :-)

headfairy I don't know exactly why I am doing it, it's a bit of an adventure for me. Probably a mixture of the slowing down ageing and also to lose weight so that I am healthier now.
I don't low carb either on normal days, just tend to try to eat a varied, balanced diet with lots of veggies and a bit of fruit. I drink milk eat wheat etc.. I think I do have a healthy diet, but am a piggy with a weakness for cake. I was within the normal range for bmi before I started this, but weight seems to creep on slowly as the body grows older so hoping to be lower on the bmi scale (was at very top of normal range)

So today was a normal day for me.
I am so envious of those you you who are not hungry on fast days. I am very definitely hungry and do find it hard in that sense.
However, do find fasting stops me from being tempted by cakes and so on, just don't see them as available when I am fasting and my workplace is a nightmare of confectionery (I think that is the collective noun).

Today have had a lunch at work with some colleagues so had a nice big roll with ham, egg mayonnaise and salad, a couple of chocolates a couple of biscuits, a few crisps cups of tea and coffee, a big old salad and am about to have a few oven chips and a battered fish because I am too tired to cook.
Might be fasting tomorrow, if I can fit it around my work meeting tomorrow. Lunch is laid on so it might be tricky to navigate...

I'm hungry on fast days (today is my second) so far, but it's just a constnt vague hunger..doesn't ebb and flow like i thought it would. It's worse once I eat something too.

My hunger definitely comes in waves. Yesterday early evening I was starving and cracked and had a cup a soup for 44 cals, which would in no way fill you up, but by the time I finished work several hours later I wasn't hungry.

I agree it does stop all temptation because it's bloody hard work and I'd feel such a cheat if I broke it. I'd be really pissed off with myself for being so weak whereas if I'm on a normal diet, I'll say to myself "oh Iv'e been good today so I can have a treat", which of course undoes all the goodness.

I've also found that it's really brought into sharp relief how much I pick and snack. I've realised how much I finish off bits the kids leave or snack on something while I'm cooking..that sort of thing.

Have just had porridge for 225 cals and a banana and currently fantasising about pan fried chicken, sausages, carrots, beans, new potatoes and gravy for lunch tomorrow. Think I'm going to have some egg on buttery toast for breakfast too.

I'm really savouring tastes atm as well.

When I was pg with DS I had HG and puked so much for the first 16 weeks I lost over a stone. It passed at round 20 weeks and I suddenly craved healthy food, grilled fish and chicken, great big salads, fruit. I feel a bit like that with the fasting, which has surprised me. I'm not dreaming of cakes and biscuit, I miss things like chicken, fish, scrambled egg, a nice sandwich. Protein cravings, maybe.

All in all, I've found the whole thing very interesting. Now have two feed days and going to try to fast Monday, to maybe do a 4:3 and then work down to 5:2.

I haven't got around to watching the program yet so I'm very vague with the specifics of the science. Is it recommended 35g of protein only on fast days to achieve the health benefits? In the short term i have been interested in this for a quick weight loss, which i have achieved ready for a wedding tomorrow, so been eating rather a lot of protein in comparison, but now in the long term want to try and and stick to the advice to gain the health rewards.

I've decided to give this a go as I need to loose weight and want the health benefits. I watched the Horizon programme and it convinced me.

So tomorrow is my first fast day and I'm aiming for 500 cals. I've made it easy and bought a calorie counted meal from m&s with some veg and that leaves me some calories for drinks.

End of 2nd fast day of week 3 and another 2lb lost. That's 7lb since first weigh in on 6th August, so half a stone in 3 weeks . Just had options hot choc, half a banana and 2 rich tea fingers.

Bunt
That's great.

Coming to end of day 2 of fasting, week 2, have felt hungry for last 2 hours!!!! Drinking water, hard to bear hunger when dd having supper. One thing that had kept me going is thought of nice breakfast in morning! Wish had something in kitchen that I could eat but will need to hold off til morning.

chaz thanks. My tip for fasting was no breakfast, low cal lunch of around 120, dinner of around 250 and rest as options hot choc, fruit/biscuit in evening.

My salad was huge and only 113 cal, boiled egg, 100g lettuce, 2 cherry Tom, 100g cucumber, 3 sliced grapes. Dinner was another boiled egg, slice of ham, 1 waffle and 1/5 of beans snap pot. Tonight had half a banana, 2 rich tea finger biscuits and options Belgium hot choc. Had a couple of diet pepsis in the day and several glasses of water.

Bunt
Thanks for the tips.

hi can i come joins yous too , i am going to start it today , going to make today starting with a fasting day !

Another lurker de-lurking! Really enjoying your posts so far, which are helpful.

Just wanted to pick up on something said in this thread about whether you can do consecutive fast days. It's interesting that at the end of the Telegraph article, the details of the diet say that they should not be consecutive.

However, the trials done on the 5:2 diet actually did two fast days together, not separately. Dr MM (the Horizon presenter) preferred to split the days because it worked better for him. On his Twitter feed, he says the science is so new and there's no evidence either way on which way is best. So, if doing the two days together is better for you, there's nothing to stop you.

Michael Mosely's main tweet on this: "the researchers do back to back days, I dont because I don't enjoy. Not sure much evidence either way."

Sorry to just jump in like this without the usual waving and saying hello, but wanted to mention this.

I've also seen something on the protein question people were asking. But I need to re-discover it before posting

Woo hoo I am so pleased, just jumped on the scales and i have lost 3lb since last Sunday! I am delighted, last night was really difficult - day 2 this week of fasting, I think I need to revise what I eat on fast days - yesterday's intake was 460 and from 8 pm onwards I felt really hungry but did avoid eating anything else, I will maybe add in having hot drink like bovril / oxo or add some cheese to evening meal,

Hoping to watch horizon programme this morning as haven't got round to it yet

I gained two bloody pound...period is due though so guessing it is that!

I found the protein thing a bit confusing after watching the Horizon documentary ? after all, it was about the science, not really about how to do the diet. So I did a bit of digging to try and find out more.

In the doc, the scientist who was investigating several days of total fast (Longo) was the one who talked about the problem of protein over-consumption (which tells the body to go, go, go). It was not the scientist investigating alternate fast days, or anyone investigating 5:2. So there are no specific recommendations on protein for those doing 5:2 or ADF (as far as I could see).

But Dr MM says in his Twitter feed that most of the experts he saw recommended moderate protein intake, and talks about keeping it below 60g. He also says in his Telegraph article: ?According to Prof Longo, like many of us on a Western diet, I eat too much protein, and that helps to keep my IGF-1 levels high. Foods such as meat and fish are rich in protein, but so is milk. A skinny latte, which I drink most mornings, comes in at around 12g of protein. Recommended levels are a relatively measly 55g of protein a day.?

But what about women, big people, little people? I found an Australian government health site with a guide to protein intake, which seems to come with similar numbers to Dr MM, if you want to calculate a more personal figure (mine is 47g).

?As a rough guide, the recommended dietary intake (RDI) for protein (measured in grams per kilogram of bodyweight) is:
? 0.75g/kg for adult women
? 0.84g/kg for adult men
? Around 1g/kg for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for men and women over 70 years.
So, for example, a 75kg adult male would need 63g of protein per day.?

You also need to calculate the amount of protein in a certain food, as total weight of fish (for example) doesn?t equal total protein. Dr MM on Twitter says 100g of fish is 20g of protein. He also says he sticks to modest protein on fast days, but still has 2 eggs & a slice of thin ham for breakfast, then grilled fish & veg for dinner.

Does that help answer that question?

It seems to me, from what I can gather, that there are health benefits for keeping protein intake to modest levels in a diet in general. For fasting (ADR or 5:2), there are no specific requirements. With low calorie intake on those days, even having two protein-based meals is unlikely to put you above your RDI, so no need to worry too much.

(apologies for long post ? hope you think it?s worth it)

thanks shortlass that posting was really helpful, I have just watched the programme on youtube and as you say the advice on protein was vague. Good point too re 100g of fish=20g protein.

what I got from the programme was a strong message about the longer term health benefits of fasting, keeping the brain sharp and disease prevention.

whilst the fasting can be hard at times, last night was difficult for me, knowing it is having these benefits and knowing you can eat normally the next day is a big plus for me, helps motivation stay high.

That's really interesting/helpful, shortlass. That leaves me with a daily allowance of 48g protein. Which is easier to stick to if I'm low carbing, as I will e eating fattier meats (generally). But I still can't visualise how much protein that actually is! I'll have to do some research into protein counts for different meats/fish now, I think.

Thanks shortlass I'm a bfeeding mummy so that is 67g protein as I am 67.13kg.